Fluid unit with dump and fill control

ABSTRACT

This hydrodynamic unit has a number of turbine fluid flow passages blocked by end walls provided between the vanes and these passages are connected by internal radial passage within the unit leading to a central discharge line. The unit will evacuate its oil by the direct tapping of the toric oil flow in the unit in response to the decrease in supply of oil to the unit torus from the controls. By controlling the amount of oil fed to the unit torus, the torque transmitting capacity of the unit is controlled.

United States Patent 1 Fackenthal [54] FLUID UNIT WITH DUMP AND FILLCONTROL [75] Inventor: Harry Fackenthal, Muncie, Ind.

[73] Assignee: General Motors Corporation,

Detroit, Mich.

[22] Filed: Oct. 22, 1971 [21] Appl. No.: 191,604

[52] 11.8. CI ..60/54 [51] Int. Cl ..F16d 33/06 [58] Field of Search..60/54 [56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,299,049 10/1942Ziebolz ..60/54 [451 Apr. 3, 1973 8/1959 Sand et al ..60/54 12/1968Hanson et al ..60/54 Primary Examiner-Edgat W. Geoghegan Attorney-W. E.Finken et al.

[57] ABSTRACT 5 Claims, 2 Drawing Figures PATENIEDAPRB 1975 3,724,209

I N VEN TOR.

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ATTORNEY FLUID UNIT WITH DUMP AND FILL CONTROL This invention relates tohydrodynamic fluid units having dump and fill provisions to selectivelyvary the torque transmitting capacity of the unit to any capacity fromzero to full capacity.

Variable capacity fluid units have been successfully employed in manydifferent vehicle applications and with many types of power plantsincluding gas turbine and internal combustion engines. Some of theseunits such as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,358,444 to R. M. Tuck havemulti-bladed members whose blades can be simultaneously set at differentangular positions to vary the torque absorption capacity of the unit toselectively apportion the power flow between a vehicle drive and anaccessory drive.

In addition to such variable capacity units there have been others withfluid dump and fill provision for completely disconnecting or fordrivingly connecting power transmission drive train members such asdisclosed in the U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,898,738 to D. R. Sand et al. and3,383,949 to J. O. Edmunds. While these prior art units with controlsfor varying capacity and for dumping and filling working fluid haveprovided substantial advancements in the power transmission field theyhave not provided the versatility needed in many applications where bothvariable capacity and complete connect and disconnect capabilities aredesired.

The present invention is directed toward such a fluid unit andincorporates a built-in scavenge type evacuation system to provide for arapid dump of the oil within the unit when desired and to provide forthe quick fill when necessary.

This invention can be employed to provide important advantages in powertransmission field. By using it in a fluid unit in a combined vehicleand accessory drive such as in the R. M. Tuck patent cited above, therecan be full power to the accessory with complete disconnect of theengine from the drive wheels. From this point the capacity of the unitcan be gradually increased until the unit has gained its full torquetransmitting capability.

With this invention the capacity of the unit may be readily varied toany capacity by controlling the mass of the fluid handled by the unit.In this invention the mass of the fluid medium in the unit is reduced byreducing the supply oil fed to the unit. The oil deleted is replaced byair to reduce the specific gravity of the fluid medium in the unit sothat the capacity is thereby reduced. To increase capacity, additionaloil is added to replace the air. Thus by regulating the amount of oilintroduced to the fluid unit it is possible to regulate the capacity ofthe unit as desired. Capacity may be gradually increased or decreased ifdesired by oorrespondingly increasing or decreasing the quantity of oilfed to the fluid unit in a graduated manner.

To rapidly dump all the oil from the fluid unit, the oil supplied to thefluid unit is shut off by a simple valve on the inlet or supply line.The oil in the coupling which is left in the torus is driven at veryhigh torus speed from the pump member into blocked vane passages. Thisoil is forced out through special exit passages provided in the turbinehub and back to a sump or reservoir. The coupling will remain empty as ameans of total disconnect in the power drive line. When it is desired toquickly resume normal torque transmitting operation of the coupling orother unit, oil under pressure is simply reintroduced into the couplingthrough the supply passages.

A feature and object of this invention is to provide a new and improvedfluid unit to selectively vary the torque transmitting capacity of theunit between zero capacity and maximum capacity.

Another feature and object of this invention is to provide a new andimproved means for rapidly evacuating a fluid unit with the provision ofthe blocking of a limited number of bladed passages to the unit and theprovision of internal passage means with the unit torus for the directtapping of the toric oil flow so that the unit will evacuate its own oilwith the appropriate interruption of oil fed into the unit.

Another feature and object of this invention is to provide a new andimproved fluid unit in which a selected number of fluid flow passagesare blocked so that the fluid therein will be directed into axialdischarge passages allowing the unit to evacuate its own oil eithercompletely or partially by controlling the supply of oil to the unitthrough flow control means.

Another feature and object of this invention is to provide a new andimproved oil discharge structure internal within the torus of a couplingor converter for either the quick or graduated dumping and filling ofthe fluid medium employed in the hydrodynamic unit to provide advancedcontrols over the transmission of power between torque transmittinginput and output members.

These and other advantages, features and objects of the invention willbecome more apparent from the following detailed description anddrawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a cross sectional view of an upper portion of a fluid unit;

FIG. 2 is a view taken along lines 22 of FIG. 1.

In FIG. 1 there is illustrated a fluid coupling 10 with a rotatablefront cover 12 having an input collar 14 that is internally splined at16 for connection with the output of an engine not shown. The frontcover 12 is bolted to a rotatable coupling housing 18 in which are aplurality of generally semicircular blades 20. These blades are securedside by side in an annular arrangement about the axis of rotation ofthehousing to an inner shell 22 and to the inside of the housing 18 toform a bladed pump assembly 24 with a plurality of separate fluiddirecting passages having fluid entrance and exit openings. The pumphousing 18 is secured by bolts 25 which extend through an annular hub 26integral with housing 18 into a cylindrical support sleeve 27 throughwhich there is provided oil supply passages 28 that feed apressure-regulated supply of transmission oil from the controls 30 tothe inlet' passage 32 formed in hub 26 and into the entrance openings ofthe pump assembly 24.

The controls 30 include suitable valve means for controlling the rate ofoil flow into the coupling from zero to a maximum for controlling thetorque capacity of the coupling. The support sleeve 27 is splined to acylindrical sleeve shaft 34 which drives a conventional fluid pumpwithin control 30 and which surrounds a rotatable torque transmittingshaft 35 extending longitudinally from the coupling.

Disposed in front of the pump assembly 24 is a rotatable turbineassembly 36 having outer and inner shells 38 and 40 which are connectedby a plurality of blades 42 similar to pump blades arranged side by sidein an annular pattern about the rotational axis of the coupling to forma plurality of fluid directing passages 44 therebetween. The majority ofthese passages have exit openings 46 for directing fluid exiting fromthe turbine into the entrance openings of the pump assembly while theremainder passages, three of 36 for example, are provided with blockingwalls 48 for diverting fluid therein down into radial openings 50 formedin outer shell 38 and in a connected annular hub 52 that is splined at53 to the end of shaft 35.-

Fluid exiting from openings 50 is directed by longitudinal passages 54formed in the hub 52 to a discharge passage 55 formed between the sleeveshaft 34 and the main torque transmitting shaft 35. The dischargepassage 55 is connected to a cooler not shown and to a sump within thecontrols 30.

Suitable anti friction bearings 58 are disposed between a centralizedand inwardly extending shoulder 60 of the front cover 12 and the end ofshaft 35 to provide for the support and the relative rotation of thepump assembly and the shaft 35. Supported on the outer periphery ofshoulder 60 and concentric with the bearing 58 is an annular fluid seal62 which contacts an inner annular projecting surface of the hub 52 toblock the discharge of fluid from the space between the front cover 12and the outer shell 38 of the turbine into the discharge passage 54. Thehub 52 of the turbine supports a plurality of thrust rollers 64 disposedin a ring which contact an annular race 66 supported by the hub 26 ofthe pump assembly 24.

In normal operation with the coupling operating at full capacity,pressurized oil is fed from the controls into the coupling through thepassages 28 and the openings 32 into the torus, provided by the pump andturbine assemblies, as shown by the flow arrows in FIG. 1. The oilcirculates in a rotary and vortex flow path within the torus and isdischarged into passage 55 through the openings 50 formed in the turbineshell 38 and hub 52. The seal 62 prevents the oil from recirculatingback into the coupling torus. In this operating condition inlet flow andoutlet flow are equal to maintain the coupling filled.

To quickly dump all the oil from the coupling, the oil to the inlet isshut off by a simple valve on the inlet line 28 which is incorporatedwithin the controls 30. The oil which is left in the converter torus iscirculated at a very high speed by the coupling pump into blade passagesof the turbine assembly. Oil driven into the three blocked vane passagesis forced out through the exit passages 50 provided in the turbine huband then back to the sump or oil reservoir. Oil in the couplingimmediately replaces the evacuated oil so that the blocked bladepassages provide for the rapid scavenging of all the remaining oil inthe coupling. The coupling remains empty as a means of total disconnectin the power drive line from input 14 to shaft 35 or from shaft 35 backto the input member 14. When it is desired to resume normal, fulltorque-transmitting operation of the coupling unit, the normal flow ofregulated pressure oil is simply reintroduced into the coupling torusfrom the pump within the controls 30.

I By regulating the amount of oil introduced into the coupling it isalso possible to regulate the torque capacity of the coupling asdesired. To reduce the torque transmitting capacity of the coupling, theamount of oil supplied to the coupling is reduced and replaced by air.This mixture of air and oil is introduced into the coupling throughpassages 28 and 32 from the controls 30. Since capacity depends on themass of the fluid handled, the specific gravity of the fluid medium isreduced and the capacity of the coupling to transmit torque fiom thepump to the turbine is reduced. By selectively varying the specificgravity of the medium the torque transmitting capacity of the unit isselectively varied.

It will be appreciated that the fluid unit of this invention may beeither a fluid coupling or a hydrodynamic torque converter. Otherchanges and modification may be made to this particular embodiment shownand described above which are within the spirit of the invention.Therefore this invention is not to be limited by the particularembodiment shown and described but only by the following claims.

I claim:

1. A hydrodynamic unit comprising in combination rotatable input andoutput means, a rotatable housing operatively connected to said inputmeans, input rotor means having a hydraulic fluid entrance and an exitoperatively connected to said housing, output rotor means operativelyconnected to said output means, a source of pressure fluid, fluid supplypassage means hydraulically connecting said source to the said fluidentrance of said input rotor means, fluid discharge passage means'hydraulically connected to said hydrodynamic unit for conducting fluidfrom said unit to said source, said output rotor means having a fluidentrance and a fluid exit, at least one of'said rotor means having aplurality of blades disposed therein which form fluid directingpassageways therebetween leading from said last mentioned entrance tosaid last mentioned exit, at least one of said passageways having a walldisposed between the associated blades to block the flow of fluidtherefrom, discharge passage means formed in said last mentionedpassageway leading generally radially inwardly into said outlet passagemeans to permit said blocked passageway to tap the toric fluid flowwithin said unit and evacuate the fluid from said unit in response tothe reduction in the amount of hydraulic fluid supplied to said unitfrom said source.

2. A hydrodynamic unit comprising in combination rotatable input andoutput means, a rotatable housing operatively connected to said inputmeans, input rotor means having a fluid entrance and a fluid exitoperatively connected to said housing, output rotor means operativelyconnected to said output means, a source of pressure oil for said unit,fluid supply passage means hydraulically connecting said source to thesaid fluid entrance of said input rotor means, fluid discharge passagemeans hydraulically connected to said hydrodynamic unit for conductingfluid from said unit to said source, said output rotor means comprisinga turbine assembly having a fluid entrance anda fluid exit and having aplurality of blades disposed therein which form fluid directingpassageways therebetween leading from said last mentioned entrance tosaid last mentioned exit, at least one of said passageways having an endwall laterally disposed between two adjacent blades to completely closethe end thereof and block the flow of fluid therefrom into said inputrotor means, discharge passage means extending generally radiallyinwardly from said blocked passageway into said fluid discharge passagemeans so that said blocked passageway taps and scavenges fluidcirculating within said unit to completely evacuate the working fluidtherefrom when the feed of oil into said unit is stopped.

3. A hydrodynamic unit comprising in combination rotatable input andoutput means, a rotatable housing operatively connected to said inputmeans, input rotor means operatively connected to said housing, outputrotor means operatively connected to said output means and cooperatingwith said input rotor means to form a torus, said input and output rotormeans having fluid entrance and exit sections, a source of pressurizedoil for said unit, passage means connecting said source to said entrancesection leading into said input rotor means, fluid discharge passagemeans connecting said unit and said source, said output rotor meanscomprising a turbine assembly having a plurality of blades disposedtherein which provide fluid directing passageways therebetween leadingfrom said entrance section to said exit section of said output rotormeans, a plurality of said passageways having a generally transversewall disposed therebetween to block the flow of fluid therefrom,discharge passage means formed in said blocked passageways directedinwardly to said fluid discharge passage means to allow said blockedpassageways to tap the toric oil flow which occurs within said torus ofsaid unit upon rotation of said input rotor means and evacuate said unitof at least a portion of the oil therein in response to the reduction inthe supply of the oil to said unit from said source.

4. A variable capacity hydrodynamic unit having fluid supply and fluiddischarge passages operatively connected thereto comprising first rotormeans having a plurality of blades therein which cooperate to form aplurality of fluid directing passages therein, second rotor means havinga plurality of blades therein which cooperate to form a plurality offluid directing passages therein which direct fluid from said firstrotor means back into said second rotor means, at least one of saidpassages in one of said rotor means having means therein to block theflow of working fluid therethrough, said blocked passage having an exitopening therein which is directly connected to said fluid dischargepassage, control means for controlling the feed of working fluid to saidunit so that fluid fed into each of said blocked passages flows to saidexit opening and said discharge passage so that the mass of the workingfluid in said unit can be varied by selectively varying the amount ofoil fed to said unit from said source to thereby selectively vary thetorque transmitting capacity of said unit.

5. A hydrodynamic fluid unit having fluid supply and fluid dischargepassages operatively connected thereto comprising input rotor meanshaving a plurality of blades annularly disposed in a side-b'y-siderelationship about a rotational axis which cooperate to form a pluralityof fluid directing passages therein, an output rotor means having aplurality of blades annularly disposed in a side-by-side relationshipabout said axis which cooperate to form a plurality of fluid directingpassages therein forponverfing energy of fluid circulatmg thereto bysaid input rotor means mto mechanical torque and for directing fluidback to said input rotor means, a predetermined number of said lastmentioned passage means having fluid blocking walls therein to formseparate sealed fluid receiving chamber means, radially inwardlyextending fluid passage means connecting each said chamber means to saidfluid discharge passage, and control means for feeding said unit withliquid at a maximum rate whereby said torque transmitting capacity ofsaid unit is at its highest level and for feeding said unit with liquidat low rate including zero rate whereby said torque transmittingcapacity of said unit is at a low level including a complete hydraulicdisconnect of said input and output rotor means and whereby said torquetransmitting capacity is selectively varied between zero and maximumcapacity by correspondingly increasing the liquid flow rate to said unitfrom zero to a maximum flow rate.

1. A hydrodynamic unit comprising in combination rotatable input andoutput means, a rotatable housing operatively connected to said inputmeans, input rotor means having a hydraulic fluid entrance and an exitoperatively connected to said housing, output rotor means operativelyconnected to said output means, a source of pressure fluid, fluid supplypassage means hydraulically connecting said source to the said fluidentrance of said input rotor means, fluid discharge passage meanshydraulically connected to said hydrodynamic unit for conducting fluidfrom said unit to said source, said output rotor means having a fluidentrance and a fluid exit, at least one of said rotor means having aplurality of blades disposed therein which form fluid directingpassageways therebetween leading from said last mentioned entrance tosaid last mentioned exit, at least one of said passageways having a walldisposed between the associated blades to block the flow of fluidtherefrom, discharge passage means formed in said last mentionedpassageway leading generally radially inwardly into said outlet passagemeans to permit said blocked passageway to tap the toric fluid flowwithin said unit and evacuate the fluid from said unit in response tothe reduction in the amount of hydraulic fluid supplied to said unitfrom said source.
 2. A hydrodynamic unit comprising in combinationrotatable input and output means, a rotatable housing operativelyconnected to said input means, input rotor means having a fluid entranceand a fluid exit operatively connected to said housing, output rotormeans operatively connected to said output means, a source of pressureoil for said unit, fluid supply passage means hydraulically connectingsaid source to the said fluid entrance of said input rotor means, fluiddischarge passage means hydraulically connected to said hydrodynamicunit for conducting fluid from said unit to said source, said outputrotor means comprising a turbine assembly having a fluid entrance and afluid exit and having a plurality of blades disposed therein which formfluid directing passageways therebetween leading from said lastmentioned entrance to said last mentioned exit, at least one of saidpassageways having an end wall laterally disposed between two adjacentblades to completely close the end thereof and block the flow of fluidtherefrom into said input rotor means, discharge passage means extendinggenerally radially inwardly from said blocked passageway into said fluiddischarge passage means so that said blocked passageway taps andscavenges fluid circulating within said unit to completely evacuate theworking fluid therefrom when the feed of oil into said unit is stopped.3. A hydrodynamic unit comprising in combination rotatable input andoutput means, a rotatable housing operatively connected to said inputmeans, input rotor means operatively connected to said housing, outputrotor means operatively connected to said output means and cooperatingwith said input rotor means to form a torus, said input and output rotormeans having fluid entrance and exit sections, a source of pressurizedoil for said unit, passage means connecting said source to said entrancesection leading into said input rotor means, fluid discharge passagemeans connecting said unit and said source, said output rotor meanscomprising a turbine assembly having a plurality of blades disposedtherein which provide fluid directing passageways therebetween leadingfrom said entrance section to said exit section of said output rotormeans, a plurality of said passageways having a generally transversewall disposed therebetween to block the flow of fluid therefrom,discharge passage means formed in said blocked passageways directedinwardly to said fluid discharge passage means to allow said blockedpassageways to tap the toric oil flow which occurs within said torus ofsaid unit upon rotation of said input rOtor means and evacuate said unitof at least a portion of the oil therein in response to the reduction inthe supply of the oil to said unit from said source.
 4. A variablecapacity hydrodynamic unit having fluid supply and fluid dischargepassages operatively connected thereto comprising first rotor meanshaving a plurality of blades therein which cooperate to form a pluralityof fluid directing passages therein, second rotor means having aplurality of blades therein which cooperate to form a plurality of fluiddirecting passages therein which direct fluid from said first rotormeans back into said second rotor means, at least one of said passagesin one of said rotor means having means therein to block the flow ofworking fluid therethrough, said blocked passage having an exit openingtherein which is directly connected to said fluid discharge passage,control means for controlling the feed of working fluid to said unit sothat fluid fed into each of said blocked passages flows to said exitopening and said discharge passage so that the mass of the working fluidin said unit can be varied by selectively varying the amount of oil fedto said unit from said source to thereby selectively vary the torquetransmitting capacity of said unit.
 5. A hydrodynamic fluid unit havingfluid supply and fluid discharge passages operatively connected theretocomprising input rotor means having a plurality of blades annularlydisposed in a side-by-side relationship about a rotational axis whichcooperate to form a plurality of fluid directing passages therein, anoutput rotor means having a plurality of blades annularly disposed in aside-by-side relationship about said axis which cooperate to form aplurality of fluid directing passages therein for converting energy offluid circulating thereto by said input rotor means into mechanicaltorque and for directing fluid back to said input rotor means, apredetermined number of said last mentioned passage means having fluidblocking walls therein to form separate sealed fluid receiving chambermeans, radially inwardly extending fluid passage means connecting eachsaid chamber means to said fluid discharge passage, and control meansfor feeding said unit with liquid at a maximum rate whereby said torquetransmitting capacity of said unit is at its highest level and forfeeding said unit with liquid at low rate including zero rate wherebysaid torque transmitting capacity of said unit is at a low levelincluding a complete hydraulic disconnect of said input and output rotormeans and whereby said torque transmitting capacity is selectivelyvaried between zero and maximum capacity by correspondingly increasingthe liquid flow rate to said unit from zero to a maximum flow rate.